Fading Away
by Painting the Roses Blue
Summary: for a prompt on livejournal. Steve's body stops producing the serum. It's a painful process. The rest of the team are desperate to find a cure/the serum itself. Steve/Tony with multiple other pairings. Rated 'T' for themes and Tony's language.
1. Chapter 1

**For a prompt on livejournal (but I can't work livejournal to save my life so if it's possible and anyone sees this prompt, they could link this if they want XD :D)**

**Potential Pairings: Steve/Tony (probably main). Minor Science Bros friendship. Clint/Bruce possibly. Thor/Steve friendship. Steve/everyone friendship. Etc.**

Prompt:

"Something happens and Steve's body stops replenishing the Serum in his body, causing him to revert slowly back to his old self. This is not a nice process, he's in constant pain and his bone structure shrinks and muscles grow weak and readjust. It seems like he'll be OK until his immune system starts to fail, illnesses he once had cropping up, having asthma attacks because of air pollution, seizures because his mind is readjusting to how it was before, being sick all the time because he never had the chance to adapt to the many diseases that mutated over the years.

Because of all this, Steve is dying, his body trying to give out on him. The other Avengers won't allow it though, forcing Steve to stay alive while they work tirelessly to find a way to inject him with the Serum again or somehow stabilise him, at least.

I'm happy with sad, bitter-sweet or happy endings.

+1000 if they even consider gamma radiation, possibly giving him a Hulk form just to keep him alive.

+10000 if you get Loki involved in a positive way.

+1000000 for Steve being in a relationship with someone (Loki, Bruce, Tony, Natasha, Coulson, Thor, Clint, any or all of them) and Steve being insecure about them seeing him like this and them loving him dearly anyway.

+1000000000 if this all started because of something the Team did and guilt is one of the driving factors of why they refuse to let Steve die (maybe even after he's come to be okay with the idea of dying and they still refuse to let it happen).

+1234567890009 if it gets to the point that Steve is only alive because machines are keeping him alive.

**a/n: Coulson's alive in this fic (because it's easier that way and it's not like anyone actually believes Loki killed him anyway).**

**OOC moments, and lots of them. Overuse of the term 'shield-brothers' because Thor talks funny.**

**Um, yeah. Steve and Tony get along a lot more in this universe. That's probably because Steve's got newfound respect for Tony, due to Tony, you know, sacrificing himself at the end of Avengers, even if he didn't die. And now that Steve's stopped judging Tony (and someone's hopefully explained Tony's major daddy issues), Tony can get along with Steve a lot more.**

**I don't see Steve!whump nearly enough these days. It's all, 'Tony's injured' or 'someone kidnapped Tony' or 'Tony's got amnesia'. Lots of hurt/comfort and angst fics (which is great, those are my favourite genres) but most have Steve as the comforter. Tony has PTSD, sure, but no doubt Steve does as well and Steve's, like, twenty-five.**

**People forget his age. He's the youngest (or close enough).**

**(Okay, not in comic-time but I'm mostly basing this on the movie because Chris Evans is hot.)**

* * *

"C'mon, Cap, lighten up."

"Not, now, Tony." Steve waved a hand, in an almost dismissive way.

He held back a groan as, when he moved, the injury on his stomach was pulled the wrong way. He was the leader and he wouldn't let them seem him injured. It wasn't even that bad, anyway, he just needed a few hours of rest to heal up and . . . Steve clenched his jaw and tightened his hands into fists under the table as Tony hit him (albeit sort-of gently) on the arm in a friendly manner.

"C'mon, _Steve_," he complained. "You've been sulking here for days now. Ever since the battle. I invited everyone here for a reason."

"Yeah, you're bored." A small smile played at the edges of Steve's mouth. "But you're always down in your lab anyway, so . . ."

"That's not fair." Tony pouted slightly. "I spent _some_ time outside of my lab."

"Only for coffee," Steve pointed out.

"I watched a movie with Thor and Clint the other day, actually," Tony corrected. "And I seem to recall talking to everyone in the team _and _Coulson and Pepper only yesterday. What's your excuse, Captain Spangles?"

". . . what?"

"Never mind," Tony sighed. "Listen, you just sit in your room and sulk like you've been doing for the past few days and I'll just tell the others that I tried."

"Ah." So the _team_ wanted him to come downstairs. Steve had already worked that out, roughly, if Tony were worried he'd have JARVIS check on him (Steve was warming up to the AI already, even if he was just machinery) instead of speaking to him directly. "So, why'd they choose you?"

"I'm offended, Captain, really, I am." Tony leaned against a wall, arms crossed. "'Cos everyone else is busy, that's why. And Natasha can be damn scary. So can Pepper."

"And I'm not?" Steve tried not to pout. He _was_ a super-soldier, stronger, faster, fitter, more agile, the _perfect_ soldier. He'd fought in World War II. And as much as Steve didn't like to be 'scary' in any form (and knew from personal experience of Natasha's glares that the redhead was lethal) he was slightly upset that Tony was more intimidated by his PA than he was the supposed leader of his team.

"The lesser of two – or three – devils, Boy Scout."

Steve gave a short laugh. Shortened mostly because it was hurting his ribs and he didn't want to wince in Tony's company. Tony, he knew, would not say anything about it to his face directly, but he would speak to JARVIS later and, probably, tell the team. Which Steve didn't need.

". . . I mean, don't you need food or something?" Tony continued. He had been rambling.

"I have a metabolism that's—"

"—four times that of a normal human, yeah, I know, read the notes, took the test and aced it," Tony said, rolling his eyes. "Literally, read the notes, though. Erskine left a few. No actual formula that I've deciphered yet, though."

"If you do work it out, never let it get into the wrong hands," Steve warned him, although he already knew that Tony had more common sense than to just leave his – well, Erskine's – notes lying about where _anyone_ could pick them up.

"Yeah, yeah," Tony rolled his eyes again. "But, anyway, Pepper's getting worried, and so is Thor and hell, Natasha even snapped at Clint when he joked that you'd died up here."

Steve smiled slightly. "I'll come down for dinner tonight then."

"Yeah, make sure you remember or Natasha will make _me _go get you!" Tony said, a teasing smile on his face. "No more sulking, Cap, got it? Moody doesn't look good on you."

"Oh yeah? And what does?"

"I could think of a few things." Tony smirked, winked at him and left the room.

Steve blushed slightly (not furiously, his best friend_ had_ been Bucky and he'd been a part of the army, the Howling Commandos; he'd heard worse stories, dirty language and sometimes Steve had to stop himself from cursing or doing something else un-Captain America-like, because that's who he was: _Captain America_ and Captain America was the symbol for all things good and children looked up to him and he couldn't be like Tony Stark because people didn't _want_ or _need_ him to be like Tony Stark).

It was strange to think that this had been the man he had been so _furious_ about only a few weeks—was it only days?—ago. He could definitely see the streak of Howard Stark, and the way that he acted in general was a painful reminder of both Bucky and Peggy but Steve would never be able to tell Tony that to his face.

Right now, though, he had to concentrate on his injuries.


	2. Chapter 2

It was getting worse.

Steve had been, of course, surprised when the wounds he had received from the Chitauri hadn't healed within a day. Most of his wounds did. Super-healing.

But then he just assumed that maybe it was magic or alien technology. Or maybe the wound was more serious so it would take slightly longer.

But it hadn't been bleeding this furiously. Steve had bandages. He'd taken the First Aid kit that he'd found in his S.H.I.E.L.D. room with him when all of the Avengers moved into Stark Tower. Apparently _all_ rooms in the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters had emergency First Aid kits and he knew for a fact that Natasha, Clint and Bruce kept theirs in their rooms (or in Bruce's case, his lab) and always carried around, at least, bandages when they went on missions. Tony didn't seem to know the meaning of "cautious" or "prepared" and no one knew if Thor even _knew_ what a First Aid kit was, let alone if he had one. He probably wouldn't use it. He'd probably do the honourable warrior thing and let it heal on its own time with very little outside factors (although, Steve had walked into Bruce's lab the day after the Chitauri battle and seen the doctor mixing up some herbs in what seemed to be a warrior healing remedy and was apply it to the cuts on Thor's chest).

The blood dripped onto the bathroom floor and Steve had to hurry to step into the shower. He'd been standing in front of the mirror, lost in thought. He'd have to hope that Tony didn't mind blood on the floors on his guest bedrooms' en suite bathrooms. Steve would have to try and clean it up, or make up for it in some way. That's _if_ Tony ever found out.

Which he would. Eventually. But Steve wanted his wounds, at least, healed by that point. Maybe, if he could, he might be able to pass it off as a training accident. Or he was holding a glass and his grip tightened and he smashed. But he'd need the wound completely gone by that point.

As the water – boiling hot, because Steve didn't know if he could stand the cold yet, but he wasn't feeling brave enough to try – pounded down on his head, he felt an uneasy feeling in his gut. His instincts were normally wrong, and he would trust them normally, but he wasn't going to worry the team unnecessarily.

His chest felt tight. He was _twenty-five_. Everyone he used to know was _dead_. But, then again, he hadn't known the Howling Commandos for a _huge_ amount of time (and it wasn't like they all sat around and told each other their life stories. They were in a war, after all. Talking about their girls back home or about their homes or family or dreams made the possibility that maybe they weren't _going_ to go back home even closer to reality.

And he hadn't known Howard or Peggy for very long, either. They'd just happened to make friends fast.

Bucky was really the only family he had had. He'd never really known his father, so his missing presence in his life hadn't really affected him at all, but when his mother had died . . . God, he'd felt so _lonely_. But Bucky had helped him through it. Bucky had become his brother, and later his brother-in-arms.

And God, Tony was _so much like Bucky that it hurt sometimes_.

But, it didn't matter, because _this_ was his new family. In this year, in this time, in this decade and century. His family were composed of a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, a scary assassin woman who seemed surprisingly nice to him, especially when he opened doors for her (mostly out of habit, not because she was a woman or he thought she was weak [as he'd had to explain to her the very first time he'd done it and she'd threatened him]), another assassin, _well_ secret agent, with amazing vision that beat even his super-serum reinforced eyes, a scientist who seemed to know _everything_, especially lots that Steve didn't understand, who could transform into a 'giant, green rage beast' and a _god_. Steve wasn't sure if he was still religious or not (he had been in the forties because his mother had been and he had believed everything the church had told him) but this new age was different and he wasn't sure if he trusted what the world had to say to him. But Steve had been assured that Thor _was_ a god, of sorts. At least, he was an alien.

Steve let out a dry, almost hysterical, chuckle. Where was he? Why _him_? _Twenty-five_. And he had to lead people with more experience into battle? What could _he_ do that they couldn't? Throw a shield around? He was strong, sure, but look at him now, bleeding like any mortal man.

He shouldn't have picked fun of Tony earlier. "Big man in a suit of armour." He was. He knew he was mortal, knew that if the armour were to fail he would get injured, or even die, and yet he _still_ went out, every day, willing to fight for the human race.

Steve had _super-serum_. Tony was right. He was a _lab experiment_.

He wasn't at risk of being harmed the same way that Tony, Natasha and Clint could. Even Bruce, if he wasn't Hulked out, was in some danger. Thor was just as strong, true, but his brother had made a personal vendetta against him and that meant that Thor was just as weak against Loki as the rest of them.

Steve was _super strong, all of the time_.

He was a coward in comparison to them.

He let out another bought of laughter, which ended in tears and sobbing.


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n: Thank you, ****LuminiaAravis and ****PartyInTheBackBuisnessUpFront for your reviews! And to all of you people who are following this story or added it to your favourites! Also, I could be _slightly_ interested in a beta-reader. Usually I'm quite confident with my work and proof-read it about eight different times for mistakes or things I could change but considering I'm the one writing the work, usually it's biased. My best friend sometimes beta's for me but being my best friend, she can't always be honest in her opinion. If someone is interested in beta-ing, just PM me. I'm not always known for being the most reliable writing (getting things done on time, continuing things, finding time to even just get on a computer, completely changing a story's plot half-way through, etc.) so I'm cautious about accepting any help until I'm happy with where this story is going.**

* * *

"Hey, Steve. You in there, Cap?"

Steve looked away from the sketch in his hand. It had been a long time since he'd even _wanted_ to draw. A perfect likeness of Bucky's face was on the paper, dotted and with the graphite smudged occasionally where tears had hit the page.

Steve had been good at drawing, but he could be better. When he was younger he'd wanted to be a soldier, not an artist. But, just the other day, he had forgotten Bucky's face. Only for a little while, before he remembered. Before all of it came rushing back.

But he'd felt so guilty. Like he'd betrayed Bucky. Bucky would never forget him so carelessly.

He needed to commit every line to memory.

But, Tony's voice had broken the trance he'd put himself in.

"Oh, yeah, hi Tony," he said, glancing towards the door. "Come on in. Your house."

"Building," Tony corrected, "not really a house. As soon as my mansion in Malibu's all fixed up, I promise you, we can leave this place but until then this is the official Avengers headquarters and . . . what're you doing?"

Steve had been listening to Tony's voice. Not his words as such, mostly the tone he spoke in. Like his voice couldn't catch up to how fast his mind was racing.

When he realised what Tony had asked, he rushed to answer. Tony Stark wasn't the most patient man on earth.

"Oh, right, yeah, this . . . this is Bucky." Steve tried not to choke over Bucky's name. He thought he failed but Tony didn't say anything.

Steve hoped that Tony didn't notice, or comment about, the tearstains.

"Oh. Right. Bucky. James Buchanan Barnes, right? I remember dad talking about him," Tony said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "Right, so, dinner."

"Dinner?"

"You forgot."

"I-I did not—"

"You did too. Natasha sent me to go get you. I warned you this would happen. Didn't I warn you this would happen?" Tony laughed slightly. "C'mon. Thor apparently cooked an Asgardian delicacy."

Steve smiled lightly. "Do I _want_ to come for dinner?"

"Pepper and JARVIS were overseers. Pepper says it's edible so I'm going to trust her on this one," Tony said. "And if not, we can always order pizza."

"Pizza, right. That still tastes the same, right?"

"Wait, what? You've not had pizza yet?"

"Not really."

Tony looked frantic but Steve rushed to try and say anything to soothe him, "No, it's fine, really, I mean, it's not like I ate pizza that much before I was . . . frozen, either. We didn't have a whole lot of money. Bucky had spare change once, and that's really been the only time so I'm not missing out on—"

"Once? _Once_? Steve, you are _missing out_. No wonder they called it the 'Great Depression' if you've only had pizza _once_! Right, that's it; we'll eat Thor's meal tomorrow. JARVIS, tell Pepper to put Thor's meal in the fridge, oh, and call up the closest pizza joint. Hey, Steve, what do you like on a pizza? Never mind, actually, JARVIS, order one of everything. No, I saw how many plates of shawarma you ate back at that place. Order eight. Oh, and the others. Ask what their favourite toppings are. Hey, order my usual too." Tony seemed thoughtful for a second. "Tell them we'll pay them double if they hurry."

"As you wish, sir."

"No, Tony, that's really not—" Steve began.

"Quiet. You're new to this century. I'm not. What have you even eaten since you've been frozen?"

"Just the shawarma and whatever S.H.I.E.L.D. could—"

"You've been _eating_ that shit that Fury's been dishing out? Seriously, Howard Stark would roll in his grave. Actually, I'm pretty sure most of the American population would team up and take down Fury if they found out our Star-Spangled-Man-with-a-Plan had to eat that crappy S.H.I.E.L.D. food."

"TONY!"

"Sounds like Pepper," Tony muttered. "Well, c'mon, Steve, we better get our asses down there before she gets Natasha to drag us down for her."

"Yeah . . ."

Steve preferred to just listen to Tony. He was learning rather quickly that there was no use in trying to argue with him. Actually, he didn't even need anyone else to hold up a conversation. He just needed something to project his thoughts at, be it him or one of his many robots.

Tony's way of speaking was quickly, fast-paced and snarky. His humour was wide and varied including anything from dry to dirty. Steve was finding he could appreciate the other man's company greatly.

Everyone was standing in the kitchen-area, around the table. Well, Pepper and Natasha were standing, everyone else was sitting. Pepper was tapping her foot.

"Tony . . ." Pepper's voice was quiet but Steve didn't relax because he'd been learning that this was only the calm before the storm and that a quiet Pepper was probably more frightening than a noisy one.

Steve hoped that Pepper wouldn't yell. His hearing was improved due to the super-serum and sometimes his eardrums would ring for hours after Pepper had stopped being angry. He would never say that to Pepper's face, though, because he wouldn't want to offend her. And, as far as he could tell, Pepper didn't deserve to be criticised for anything. She did, after all, look after Tony Stark on a daily basis and anyone who did that, in Steve's book, deserved a medal.

"Why has JARVIS just asked us all what our favourite pizza toppings are after we spent _hours_ helping Thor work the kitchen so he could make a very _special_ Asgardian meal for us?" Pepper asked, jaw clenching.

"Steve's never had pizza," Tony replied. "Well, okay, _once_, but that was in the forties! I want to show him how much _better_ pizza's gotten!"

Thor looked slightly upset.

"No, no, it's fine Miss Potts, Thor," Steve said automatically. "I'll have what Thor's made. I'll have pizza another night. It's fine, really. I'm sorry about this . . ."

"No!" Tony pouted. "You'll take _my_ side on this, Spangles!" He moved to stand next to Steve. "You know what Steve's had to eat since he got here, Pep? _S.H.I.E.L.D. food_."

Pepper wrinkled her nose. "Nick Fury really had _Captain America_ eating the same food their agents have been eating?"

"I resent that," Clint said, "the only thing I've ever had against the caterers at S.H.I.E.L.D. was that one woman who thought it'd be funny to give me breadcrumbs and worms for my lunch."

"You still ate it," Natasha muttered.

"Well yeah! A guy's gotta eat, right?"

Tony nudged Steve and muttered something along the lines of, "Use the puppy dog eyes and Pep'll swing 'round."

But Steve wasn't really paying much attention but Tony had nudged his wound hard. And the skin there was sensitive and Steve felt tears prickling in his eyes and the pain forced him onto his knees and he thought he might have heard himself call out in pain.

* * *

**a/n: it's my headcanon that Thor's actually a great cook. And Frigga send down the Asgardian ingredients in, like, a giftbasket or something. it's also my headcanon that Steve's skin is _extremely _sensitive, especially when he's injured or something.**


	4. Chapter 4

"I didn't break Captain America, did I? 'Cos Coulson and Pepper are going to _kill_ me if I have. Actually, scratch that, the _American people_ are going to kill me."

"No, you did not 'break' him." The medical agents looked over their notes. "It would seem Captain Rogers has a rather large injury covering his abdomen area. We've disinfected it and with his enhanced healing abilities, he'll be out of the medical wing in a day or two."

"Shield-Brother Steven had a wound to his abdomen?" Thor asked and everyone glanced at him cautiously, waiting for him to get to his point. "I believe that may be the same wound he sustained in our battle with my brother. I was assured by Shield-Brother Bruce that it would have healed by now."

"He should have," Bruce agreed, with a frown. "Enhanced healing . . ." He waved a hand to dispel his thoughts. "It should have been healed."

The medical agents shrugged.

"He's stable for now," one of them continued. "He lost some blood after his wound was reopened but other than that, he's fine. Nothing life threatening."

"So we can go visit?" Clint asked.

"Yes, we should all check on Brother Steven and wish him a fast recovery speed," Thor agreed.

"When did Steve and Thor become BFFs?" Tony muttered as they walked out.

"What's wrong, Stark? Jealous?" Clint teased.

Natasha ignored him, "Probably during the Chitauri battle," she replied. "They were both fighting on the ground, remember. You have to trust someone if they're going to be covering you and you're going to be covering them."

"Not jealous," Tony grumbled. "Just wondering when their periods'll synchronise and they'll sit about watching sit-coms, eating ice-cream."

"Sounds like jealousy to me," Clint continued in a sing-song voice.

"I do not understand," Thor said, a frown on his face. "I was led to believe that only female Midgardians could go through their menstrual cycles, for the reproduction purposes. This is different in Asgard, as my brother Loki has gotten pregnant many—"

"Not what I needed to hear," Tony interrupted.

"Ah! My brain! I need it bleached!" Clint yelled, holding his head in his hands. "My mind did _not_ need that mental image, Thor!"

Several people in the corridor snickered something and muttered about Clint, his mind and Loki. Natasha glared at them and they all quickly sped up down the corridor.

"They giving you a hard time about that?" Tony asked Clint curiously.

"A bit," Clint replied, quietly. "It's not like I don't deserve it. They think that I wasn't under Loki's enchantment. And some are just confused as to why, under a spell or not, I would even _harm_ any other S.H.I.E.L.D. worker."

"It's not your fault, Clint," Natasha murmured. "It could have happened to any of us."

"But it happened to _me_. When Loki tried it on Stark, _he_ didn't get all mind-controlled."

"Arc Reactor," Tony pointed out, tapping his chest. "Stops me from getting mind-controlled and from getting a cardiac arrest. Win-win. But, then again, I got thrown out a window. For you it was either be all mind-controlled or die. And we're all glad you just got mind-controlled rather than get speared through the gut."

". . . Thanks?"

"Your welcome. Now, is this meant to be where Steve is?"

"It would seem so," Bruce replied, having kept quiet this whole team, a small, amused look on his face the whole time.

"Now . . . how to make our entrance?" Tony asked, frowning. "Nah, I'm just kidding with you guys. I already worked it out." He fiddled with his StarkPhone (which was really just a screen) and it began blaring 'Star Spangled Man'.

"Tony, really?" Natasha asked, not looking distinctly impressed.

"Just trying to cheer everyone up," Tony replied, with a small grin. "It could be worse. I could make this blast out of _every_ intercom in this whole place."

"Please don't."

Everyone jumped in surprise as Steve's quiet voice floated through the double-doors to the medical bay. Tony peered through the see-through plastic, trying to look innocent. At Steve's tired-looking gaze, Tony stopped, switched the music off and strode into the medical bay.

"So, how are you feeling, today? I would've bought chocolates but last time I tried to give you food I managed to hurt you enough to leave you in a hospital bed, so . . ."

Tony rambled when he was nervous.

"Is that your version of an apology?" It wasn't a snarky comment, but a serious question.

"Um . . ."

"Well, then, apology accepted," Steve replied. "You really don't have to though. It was my wound. I should've kept better care of it. It doesn't hurt anymore, anyway, so it's fine."

It was a see-through lie but it made Tony feel slightly better.

"I'm surprised Coulson's not been through here," Tony continued, feeling more at ease.

"You just missed him, actually," Steve corrected him, sounding slightly amused.

"So," Bruce began, "when were you planning to tell us about your wounds?"

Steve flinched.

"I, uh . . ." He stumbled over his words slightly. "I was going to! But it was going to heal anyway. I didn't see the point, I guess." He was still flinching, as if he expected to be hit for not telling them.

"Pretty selfish of you, Cap," Tony said, his voice only slightly teasing. "We're a _team_, remember?"

"R-right."

Bruce nodded slightly in acknowledgement. "Do you have any idea why your body hasn't fixed this yet?"

"No. Not really. But . . . my eyesight's gotten worse and so have my senses. And . . . the other day . . . my chest got really heavy. I haven't felt anything like that since . . ."

"Since . . . ?" Bruce coaxed.

"Since I had asthma."

* * *

**a/n: Um, I'm not great at cliffhangers? X_X**

**Yeah, I know that other authors give feedback to their reviewers (feedback to your feedback . . .) so yeah, I'll be doing that. 'Because I can? I DO WHAT I WANT. That means that the Author's Note will be probably very long.**

**Also, 40 alerts? I love you guys! :D**

**I was also wondering: Do you guys have any preference in who I ship together? Usually I would ship Steve/Tony, Bruce/Clint, possibly Thor/Jane or Thor/Loki (or Loki/Darcy if I can include her). But if people here like Pepper or Rhodey or Jane or whoever they want, no doubt I will find some way to include them. (If you like Pepperony then I'll find some way to give Tony and Pepper some more time together, or Clint/Natasha or Bruce/Betty. Whatever. Personally I'm a Bucky/Steve shipper and I would kill for a chance to somehow include the Winter Soldier.)**

**what happens in my Imagination: **YOU THERE. WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE? ...you're just going to get destroyed by all my steve/tony and clint/bruce shipping. You do realise that you could just read my chapters whenever you want?

**Nilly's Issue: **I agree with the fact he is incredibly attractive, built, adorable and has got nice hair (I really like his hair and I don't know why).**  
**

**LuminiaAravis:** Ever since you made the comment about my writing being non-linear (which it is, but that's mostly just because I can't write linear) every time I write _anything_, I just stare at it and go, "Yeah . . . non-linear." I just hadn't noticed it before.

**poop patrol: **I'm glad you think it's coming along fine. I think so too! :D I like the idea, and I've read a few fics but I just sat there, thinking, "The serum's in his DNA, right? So that must _hurt_."

**tmntyyh: **Your review made my week. Seriously, thank you so much! :D Everything you said was so nice! I'm worried about taking up a beta-reader until I'm sure I know what I'm doing with this story. I know that other authors write out whole plot overviews and several drafts so that they know what's going to happen next, but I don't. Can't do that. I always change my mind. And when I saw some serious authors at a book award, they said, "Nope. Don't do that. I like finding out what's going to happen next at the same time as my characters." And so, in a few more chapters, I might have my grips and I'll probably take up your offer of help! :D

**sregnevA: **Yes, Steve's sensitive skin. When I first made that my head canon, it took me about all of 10 minutes to think of M-rated thoughts. X_X Let's be perverts together. Yeah, I saw this prompt and went, "I want to write something with this" but I couldn't just ignore the fact that it was someone else's idea so I had to point it out.

If I worked at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, I would totally just hand Clint a worm.

**chasingdemons**: Really? I love Steve whump (I understand that Tony has some self-worth issues and stuff, but Steve's got problems too.) :D

**Heaven From Hell**: Thank you! I like writing Tony (even if I'm doing it badly) so I enjoy just ranting about stuff, and I randomly had a thought, "Steve's probably not eaten a whole lot other than what Bucky and he could afford" and then a flashback to Obadiah Stane giving Tony pizza in the first Iron Man movie X_X

**natsuki chere:** Thank you!

**Assassin of Oblivion: **Shh! Spoilers! Thank you!

**You Light the Sky: **Ah! Thank you! My head canon is . . . I like my head canon (I have whole lists of my head canon including stuff like Darcy and Sif having slumber parties and who everyone's besties are XD). Yeah, I just thought that maybe it would be. He's a super soldier, after all. Do you know that when you told me that you loved my Tony, I actually squealed and began thanking my computer? I love Thor, he's so cuddly. And thanks for all the compliments!


	5. Chapter 5

**Short chapter.**

**This one isn't focused primarily on Steve and neither will the next few (as this is a _team_ thing going on and there'll probably be lots of Team!whump later on [especially with Clint because, although I can't write him, I like his characters. And characters that I like, I must _punish_]).**

* * *

"Whatever you do, Stark, make sure the press _don't_ find out about this. Got it?"

"Got it." Tony looked serious, for once. "And if we're done here, can I go see what Bruce is doing?"

Fury looked at Tony with a knowing look. As if he _needed_ permission to go visit Bruce. As if Tony would _follow_ orders anyway. But Tony seemed slightly shaken up by Cap's injury. With their leader so weak on his feet, maybe Tony would take some responsibility now. Fury wasn't going to hold his breath about it.

"Right. Okay." Tony started backing off. "Yeah, I'll just go see what Bruce is doing . . ."

Tony was startled to realise that the rest of the team were all in Bruce's lab as well. Usually Bruce didn't like many visitors while he worked but now he had Clint fetching him things and handing him test tubes, and getting Natasha to write things on a touch-screen monitor nearby. Thor, he noticed, was standing carefully out of the way, observing things, but not touching.

They all looked up as Tony entered and Clint scoffed when he saw Tony's surprised look.

"We all care about Cap, you know," he muttered.

"Right. Yeah. So? What's the diagnosis, Doc?"

Bruce looked up from the slide he was analysing with a microscope, hand poised to grab a test tube for some reason or another (Tony was a genius, yeah, but he never really liked chemistry, he only knew enough to create his own element and that was about it, too many variables). "His blood's not looking good," he said, rubbing his eyes. "His blood, like all of him, was enhanced by the super-serum. The super-serum was meant to stick to his DNA. By the looks of it, it's not sticking anymore. Steve wasn't meant to live to the age of ninety plus. He was a soldier, remember? They didn't think he'd last as long as he did."

"You got all that from a sample of his blood?" Clint asked, frowning at the slide.

"Priorities, Clint," Natasha scolded him lightly.

Clint nodded. "So? What's this going to mean for Steve?"

"I am also curious about the effects that this will have on our brother," Thor agreed.

"No more super-serum," Bruce explained. "If his body can't reproduce more . . ." He shrugged. "He should just go back to his pre-serum form."

"He's not going to like that," Tony muttered. "He was _tiny_ before."

"We've _all_ seen the file, Tony," Clint reminded him. "But you're right. If Steve doesn't have the super-serum, he can't be Captain America. And if he's not Captain America, he can't be on the team, and then he can't fight and he can't work for S.H.I.E.L.D. and do all those other things that he likes to do like rescuing kittens from burning buildings and playing catch with orphans."

"Will it be permanent?" Thor questioned.

"Unless we can find out Erskine's formula for the serum? Yes," Bruce replied. "And Tony's read Erskine's notes more than all of us."

Tony suddenly felt slightly nervous. "Uh, well, yeah, but they're mostly about Cap, you know. About how he was the right candidate and stuff."

"And Howard's notes? He should've kept _something_ from the experiment, right?" Natasha spoke up.

"Only blueprints for the machine," Tony replied, frowning when he realised he was about as much use as Thor right now. "I can go look over them, but I don't think I'll find anything new. If I'd cracked the super-soldier serum, don't you think I would've told somebody by now?"

He sent a small look to Bruce. A message that read: _If I'd figured it out, you would've been the first to know_. They were friends, after all.

"Yeah . . . well . . ." Clint looked awkward and slightly uncomfortable. "I'm not good with . . . science." He shifted his weight onto his other foot. "If you need someone to break into other peoples' labs and stuff then, you know, call. I'll be with Steve." He walked out.

Natasha began to follow his lead. "I'll be around," she told them.

Thor dropped his arms to his sides, looking upset. "I feel guilty that I can be of no use to you," he said. "No use to you or Steven. If there is anything I can do to help . . ."

"If we need heavy lifting, we'll let you know, big guy," Tony told him. "But there's not much else you can do for now. Just . . . be with Steve, okay? Make sure he doesn't . . . cry or anything. Coulson will kill _all_ of us if he cries."

"Verily. Thank you, shield-brother." Thor strode out with new purpose.

"Maybe you should go be with them too, Tony," Bruce said quietly.

"What? Why?"

"Because you won't understand all of this," Bruce said, gesturing to the slides. "And you won't _like_ that you won't understand it."

"So? _I_ can still be useful here. It's _science_. And we're, like, _science bros_. I can make things . . ." Tony looked slightly helpless. "I made a new element once, did you hear? Well, _old_ technically, it was my dad's but—"

"Get Erskine's notes," Bruce sighed.

* * *

**Thunder/lightning during class today. Whispering to my friends, "Thorrrrr!"  
**

**In drama the other day, Tate ran around with a 'hammer' he made from a pencil and some foam, calling himself 'Thor'. I helpfully told him, "Mjolnir". (and my friend in German made a reference to 'Heimdall' and I sat there for about five minutes just dying because I was like, "HEIMDALL. HEIMDALL. HOW DO YOU KNOW OF HEIMDALL?")  
**

**Making covalent bonding/ionic bonding somehow a metaphor for Tony and Steve's relationship in chemistry.  
Googling pictures of Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Dominic Cooper, Sebastian Stan, more Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch and more Chris Evans during Biology.**

**There is no hope for me.**


	6. Chapter 6

**The shortest chapter I've done so far. (I think. The computer I have only has chapters 5-11.) If you're lucky and I don't have to walk my puppy today then maybe I'll update the next chapter sometime today as well. Long Author's note is long. If you don't read my author's notes then, um, it's a _very_ short chapter.**

**poop patrol: **You mentioned about Clint getting twitchy about the "useless" thing. Well, this is some more twitchy Clint. Because Natasha, Clint and Thor are "muscle" characters (they all have their respective traits, Natasha being all spy and ninja-like, Clint with archery and Thor with just bravery, but they are "muscle" characters) whereas Bruce and Tony are "brainy" characters (although they have the Hulk and Iron Man, they have those things because they _made_ them, using _science_ with their _brains_) I want them to feel useless about not being able to do anything for their friend because they don't _know_ about science and stuff because Clint spent all of his time at the circus (and I don't think he ever went to high school/academy/whatever, did he?), Natasha was busy doing spy stuff (and you know, doesn't leave a whole lot of time for studying) and Thor grew up in a different realm where his brother did the studying and he did all the heavy lifting.

I'm not sure where to label Steve in all of that because he's meant to be "the greatest strategist, like, eva" or something and he's also very muscley. But those muscles were not natural and most of his skills were enhanced by the super-serum. But he isn't a brainy child-genius like Bruce or Tony were. (and, in my opinion, that will lead to many, many inferiority complexes, much like Hank Pym.)

Also, yes, I could also stare at Chris Evans all day.

* * *

Clint hit another bull's-eye on the target he was aiming for. He was so annoyed! Why couldn't he do something? Anything?

"I can feel your frustration from here, Eye of Hawk. You left Steven's side in a rusher manner. Do you feel as helpless as I?"

Thor was standing in the doorway, a frown on his face.

"Yeah," Clint replied, rubbing his right arm from where the string dragged along skin (he should have put on armguards or been more careful, but he was angry and he hadn't even noticed his arm was in the way). "Seeing our leader sitting on a hospital bed, trusting us to let him know if Bruce finds out anything about his condition . . . it's not a good feeling. Especially when you know that if Bruce doesn't find anything he might never be our Captain again." Clint let out a long sigh, a mix of exasperation, anger, sadness and frustration. If it weren't Cap, if he weren't so sensitive, if there wasn't a chance of Cap never being 'Cap' again, then Clint would have made a joke, to make the mood ease up.

"I agree. I wished our shield-brother good tidings but felt uncomfortable keeping the truth about the nature of his condition from him," Thor murmured.

"But it's not like telling him the truth would be better because Captain America is the only thing Steve's got." Clint let another arrow fly, mindful of his arm this time.

"That is where I disagree. He has us."

* * *

". . . and I have nothing else to report."

"Thank you, Agent Romanoff. Let us know if anything new appears."

"Yes, sir. And . . ."

"And?"

"Steve doesn't know the serum's wearing off. It's better if it stays that way."

"Are you trying to tell _me_ what to do, Agent?" Director Fury asked, a challenge on his face.

"No. _Advising_." Natasha's face was as carefully controlled as always. "But not as an agent on the Avengers team, but as Steve's friend. It's better this way, Fury." Her eyes narrowed. "I don't care who does it"—her voice got steadily louder and she glanced at the other high-ranking agents in the room—"if anyone says _anything_ to hurt _any_ of my friends then I will _destroy_ you." Perhaps it was the calmness in her voice that was so frightening. "We will defend each other."

Everyone except Maria Hill and Fury looked terrified.

* * *

Steve's body convulsed in pain. All of his muscles felt like they were cramped and being pulled. Everything else burned like when Steve worked out too much in the gym. He may have screamed. He may still be screaming. His throat _did_ hurt, but so did _everything_.

He could feel the tears running down his face.

He desperately hoped and prayed to a God he wasn't even sure existed that none of the team were around to see him like this. What would they think of him? Not as a warrior, not as a leader. But as weak, frail, tiny Steve Rogers.

Steve couldn't be that man anymore.

* * *

**a/n: Author's Note is probably longer than the chapter. But that's okay because the next chapter is longer and all about Bruce (although no dialogue really).**

**(saw two people get onto my bus with the words "Hydrasun" written on their jackets [the company they work for]. I felt the need to hiss the words 'Red Skull' at them and automatically wondered if they knew Chris Evans. Is that normal?)**

**Saw the Fantastic Four on Blu-Ray in ASDA today. My friend had to drag me away from the stall because I was just staring at it and murmured, "Chris Evans..."**

**Audrey Lynne: **Okay, well, if you change your mind and have any preferences then just let me know, 'kay? I'm very devoted to doing what my reviewers would like so they don't, you know, hate me. If anything happens in this story that someone _really _hates, they had the chance to put their foot down and say 'no'. STEVE!WHUMP!

**tmntyyh: **Sentences. Right. I just write whatever's on my head and it usually ends up in some sort of story format XD So long as it's working, it must be good :D AH, thanks for complimenting the chapter!

**Reader: **When I got your review, I was practically crying. You people are so nice! Thank you so much for all of the compliments! YES. ANONYMOUS STALKERS. :D

**TonyxSteve: **Thank you! I like to stay at least, I don't know, five chapters ahead (takes the stress of) and I happen to be writing a chapter a day at school and things so I try to update daily. When my muse runs away (she's in a net right now) then I might slow down and do it weekly/monthly/annually/once in a millennia but right now I'll update as soon as possible :D

**CC. : **I hope it's giving you feels! I can't write angst but I love it when I read angst and get all those weird belly-flopping feels. I know mine probably isn't doing that but maybe _one day_ I can perfect it. And this is just practise. The next chapter is all about Bruce and then there'll definitely be some Bruce/Clint friendship-perhaps-turning-to-bromance-and-then-shortly-after-romance and I'll probably through Coulson in a few scenes. Jane with Sif? I'll see what I can do. I've already written a Thor and Loki scene (no romance though) but it's pretty short. I appreciate your input! Just throw your ideas at me! (Now that you've said it, I'll only be able to ship Jane and Sif together.)

**Al-theFreak****: **Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it! Top-favourites? Seriously? :D You _liked_ the cliffhanger? I thought it was pretty lame and kinda cliché but it's my own work so I'm allowed to hate it and love it and mock it. I cannot say how many 'thank you's that I mean! I'll through in some Pepperony if I can (just little bits because it is a Tony/Steve story. Or it will be. Eventually.) but I cannot write Pepper without making her angry/yelling at Tony and I _know_ that it isn't her character. She's got more personality than that. Also, for the Clintasha, I will be working on that. I feel less confident writing with Pepper, Rhodey, Thor and Natasha so you'll notice I use them less and less. I'll work on bringing them in more and things :D Ah, the review wasn't dissatisfying! I like it! And your English was very good!

**You Light The Sky:** Plot thickening! Yes, I'm stirring it on the hob at gas mark 3 and I'm not adding any more milk to thin it out (yes, I didn't take cooking as a subject in school). Steve is indeed adorable and I plan to use that and Thor's puppy-dog eyes to my advantage. **"I imagine it would be difficult for people to trust him again after the Loki-controlling-him-thing"**...no spoilers! Just wait. Well, Tony and Steve just became bros and now he's finding out that his bro is actually bros with Thor (Brodinsson). I mean, they're all probably feeling jealous and insecure about being bros with each other XD Ugh, I can't write Coulson. Or Fury. Or Hill. So basically, this S.H.I.E.L.D. base is actually just home to the Avengers unless I want to mention them. XD Buckyyy/steevee. My brother and I came up for some ideas for this whole story and I've found that I could probably throw Bucky in there somewhere. And I know that the whole brainwashing thing is pretty bad but Clint could just say, "been there, done it, got the T-shirt" so the Bucky!whump would probably be a minimum because it's a mostly Steve!whump story.

**cake house and latte: **More Bucky/Steve shippers! Yeah, I started this story as a Tony/Steve one so it will end as a Tony/Steve one (in about, like, 50 chapters and 9 sequels because the amount of ideas I have for this are crazy and right now most of the chapters I write are just filler).

**Laheara: **Yeah, but he's all being angsty about being the leader and not being as good as them and stuff so he doesn't _understand_ their love~~~! YES. Thank you for that idea! Thor will be taking Steve to Asgard! ("One cannot simply _walk _into Asgard!") (and, like, all the Asgardians could be in total awe of Steve who, at that time, is still a tiny little guy but can still wield Mjolnir and is the _bravest of the brave and the Captain of America_ and stuff!) Clint and Natasha will have some time together later. Also, I just finished copying Chapter 11 from my notebook onto my computer and I threw in a lot more Thor/Steve bromance than I actually had originally. Fury will appear. Later. Maybe. If I remember. Yes. JARVIS. Actually, thank you for reminding me, because now JARVIS is going to be a sort-of plot point. Ish. Thing. Thank you for saying I've got Tony's voice down because I try! :D


	7. Chapter 7

**I started work on Chapter 13, so I felt like I should try to post more, especially to make up for the fact the last chapter had a bigger a/n than chapter.**

* * *

Bruce Banner was not, in particular, social. At the beginning of his life, his father had been abusive and it's not easy to make friends when you have to constantly worry that maybe they'll beat you up too.

Actually, Bruce didn't even know that being beaten wasn't normal until he was about twelve years old.

And he had always been far more intelligent than his peers. For the most part, he didn't mind. He didn't need friends, he had experiments. He didn't need people to be around because he was busy. He was a genius, he should use his intelligence to aid mankind, instead of wasting it (at that age, he had been thinking, of course, about Tony Stark, although now he knew better).

And then the Other Guy happened. And that kind of ruled out 'friends'. Except for Betty Ross but she didn't seem interested in him anymore and he understood that. The guy that she had been interested in when he reappeared in her life was nice and Bruce wasn't jealous. Sure, the Hulk was slightly upset, but he had a _family_ now.

Bruce now realised how much he had missed on the terms of family. He had the Avengers now and he was glad for it. They accepted him for his brains as well as for the Other Guy's brawn. They were interested in _both_ of him. And he wasn't used to that.

He knew people that had been interested in being his friend (only one or two, because even without the huge, green, rage monster thing, he was still a socially inept scientist who had been picked on for most of his life) but who ran away from the Other Guy.

And he knew _dozens_ of people who were interested in the Hulk, but not of the mild-mannered scientist he was hidden behind. Although Bruce knew that most of them didn't really want to be the Hulk's friend so much as they wanted to do experiments on him, so Bruce was okay with him having more of the attention.

Oh, but the Avengers were so _different_.

Tony was a genius, of course, and more different than any other person Bruce had met (except, perhaps, Thor). He was funny, sarcastic and surprisingly nice (hidden behind modest, anonymous donations and careless words). When he had found out ('found out' meaning he had hacked into the databases again) that S.H.I.E.L.D. planned on keeping him in a caged room, in case of emergency, he had told the rest of the team and they had all fought for him.

And, when Fury had told them 'no', Tony had to be _forced_ off of the premises by several angry, muscled guards (most of whom were left in the hospital wing by Steve and Thor when they realised what was going on, but eventually they got Tony away). Tony had then threatened a lawsuit and, according to Clint, spent the rest of the week muttering darkly into his mobile phone. Natasha had left, glaring at Fury, with a warning that if he didn't reconsider then maybe the Avengers would decide to 'avenge' Bruce (which meant that most of the other agents in the room had flinched away and wrote their wills). Thor had to be drugged and sent to Stark Towers and Steve had apparently exited through a self-made hole in the wall because he refused to stay in the S.H.I.E.L.D. base any longer.

Clint, meanwhile, took matters into his own hands and had broken Bruce out. Bruce had been as surprised as anyone. He hadn't actually ever really _met_ Clint. Natasha had told him a little of Clint up until that point and it all sounded positive (well, not _all_ of it sounded positive, a lot of it was Natasha complaining about Clint, but he sounded friendly enough). And when Clint had been back to his old self (no longer Loki-possessed) Bruce had already Hulk-ed out, fought with Thor and landed himself on the ground. And then he'd made his way back to New York in time for the final battle.

They hadn't had much time to talk. And then they'd had their shawarma and Bruce had been more concentrated on not letting the Other Guy take over again and to force down all of his food before Thor or Steve ate it.

But Clint had been the one to break him out. He had been climbing through the vents (although, Bruce later discovered that he was claustrophobic and didn't understand what had possessed him to do such a thing when he was sure that Hawkeye had clearance to go into his room and, if he didn't, he could probably threaten someone for entrance [it's what Natasha would have done]) and he suddenly dropped down from the roof next to Bruce.

Bruce had to force himself to ease his breathing before he turned green. Clint had just grinned at him, said, "Doctor Banner. Nice to meet you. You want to come live at Stark Tower with us?"

Bruce had said 'yes', of course. And Clint had just walked out, muttering something like, "Just walk out like you own him" and Bruce felt uneasy about how much Clint had actually prepared for the 'breaking out' part of breaking Bruce out of a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility.

(And he was pretty sure Coulson had been watching them leave on the security cameras but he didn't say anything.)

Clint had just wandered into Stark Tower, with Bruce behind him, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. He had showed Bruce to one of Tony's more unused labs and ever since then, had been dropping down from roofs everywhere to say hi. It was an odd friendship.

By the time Fury found out that he was missing, it was too late and he was fully settled into Stark Tower, Tony had a dozen and one lawyers ready to defend Bruce if the need came and, plus, he had the Avengers on his side.

Tony had let him do everything he wanted in any of the labs (except his own personal one) he wanted because he was Bruce's 'science bro', apparently. Clint appeared (Bruce wasn't sure how he worked out what lab Bruce was in at what time, but he did) with lunch and funny stories. Natasha sparred with him and taught him hand-to-hand combat in case the Other Guy didn't appear and he needed to fight. She was also very defensive of him and Bruce wasn't sure why. Thor had practised meditating with him in the gym on a daily basis, because he wanted to learn how to control himself and repeated to Bruce about how he was in awe of him for learning to suppress his inner warrior instincts and how strong he must be (and this was coming from a _god_).

Steve, Bruce had found, was just . . . _good_. Bruce had originally worried that maybe he would be slightly envious of Steve for having the perfect strand of the formula that he had thought lay in gamma radiation, but he wasn't. Actually, he was glad it was Steve. Steve was beginning to understand more and more modern technology (thanks to JARVIS and Bruce's combined teachings because it was obvious if Tony tried to teach him anything, either he would be frustrated or he would try and trick Steve into doing anything from signing up for online dating or downloading porn).

In other words, Steve and Bruce got along well because Steve was still slightly cautious (and Bruce appreciated that) about teasing Bruce because of the Other Guy. He was more careful than any other teammate about approaching the Hulk and Bruce would agree with him the Hulk _was_ a liability. He seemed pretty loyal now but there was no telling what he could do. And Bruce did not treat Steve like an idiot, because he wasn't. He was a man out of time, not out of intelligence.

But, to summarise this whole thought process, the Avengers were family. They were the only people to ever accept Bruce, and they were the only people to accept the Hulk and they were extremely close.

So that's why Bruce couldn't let anything happen to any one of his teammates. Because they wouldn't let anything happen to him.

* * *

**...**

**There's a war poster in my History class that says: "If you fit the cap, sign up today". I can only read "Cap" and just sit there with this amused look on my face. There are so many World War posters and I just think, "CAPTAIN AMERICA". And Buckyyy~ Every time I go into History I have Bucky and Steve (and Bucky/Steve) feeellss.**

**what happens in my Imagination: **YOU'RE STILL HERE? Seriously. :) Thank you for calling it brilliant! Well, it's not like you could say anything otherwise. Could you? (actually, don't answer that, 'cos you probably would.)


	8. Chapter 8

**a/n: this was based on a different idea/thing. You Light the Sky, you said: **"Poor Clint, I imagine it would be difficult for people to trust him again after the Loki-controlling-him-thing." **Well . . . ;) You guessed this chapter? Steve's not the only one hurting.**

**My tired/sleepy/hurt Clint sounds like he's on drugs. Oops.**

* * *

Clint spat out blood. He looked up defiantly to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents surrounding him. Usually he wouldn't be so easily overpowered (just because he was better at archery didn't mean he couldn't hold his own in a fist-fight) but he and Natasha had _trained_ some of these guys, plus Clint hadn't expected the attack and his senses were fatigued and after spending hours in the archery range all of his muscles felt slow and heavy. All Clint had wanted to do was sleep.

It was the perfect time for an ambush and some masochistic and paternal part of Clint felt proud of the young agents' strategy skills.

It wasn't completely unexpected. It wasn't as if Clint hadn't been worrying that something like this was going to happen.

He had just been delaying the inevitable, really. He had been walking in groups, crowds, with Natasha, anywhere but never alone.

But Natasha couldn't always be with him. Neither could Coulson, or any of the few other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that still liked him.

The reason for the attack? Easy. Not everyone thought Clint was a good guy. They didn't all have to. But, after the Loki incident, it seemed less and less people were willing to trust him, or just walk beside him. Lots of agents seemed to believe that Clint wasn't even brainwashed, and that he only claimed he was when he realised that the God of Mischief wasn't going to win the battle. Of course, this would also mean that Eric Selvig was a liar (and God forbid Jane Foster ever find out about that, God of Thunder as her boyfriend or not) and that Natasha – _Natasha fuckin' Romanoff _– was a liar too and she would kill anyone who said that to her face.

But it would make sense and Clint was in the business of liars and double-agents (and only a few weeks before the Tesseract was common knowledge even amongst the Science Division at S.H.I.E.L.D. there had been that weird Andrew guy who had turned out to be working for some neo-Nazi group that hadn't been identified before and that wasn't the best for morale) and Clint couldn't bring himself to blame them for their lack of trust, because he wasn't the most trusting person either and neither was Natasha.

Other agents took it too far, sometimes. They gave Clint dirty looks in the corridor, spoke about him and sometimes gave him the cold shoulder when he tried to talk to them. That wasn't a problem really. He'd grown up in a circus, where "freak" was the most affectionate name he'd gotten. Those were tricks that bitchy twelve-year-old girls used to isolate and bully. And Clint wasn't twelve-years-old, even if he and Tony sometimes acted like it. So, he was above that, it didn't hurt.

Or so he told himself.

Sometimes, he'd see someone he recognised, someone he'd gone out drinking with, and the way they'd _glare_ at him . . .

And then it'd come to shoving in the corridor. How high-school (Clint assumed, he hadn't really gone . . .). Nothing big. Nothing that Natasha, or Coulson, or Thor, or whoever Clint was walking with would notice of see as anything other than an accident.

And there's almost been a fight before. But Steve happened to just finish a briefing and one glimpse of Clint's super-soldier friend had sent them running. Most of the Avengers would scare them away, actually. He had to be honest, his teammates _were_ very intimidating, no matter how cuddly they seemed to him (Tony had his money, intelligence and suit; Steve and Thor were _huge_; Natasha just because she was fuckin' terrifying; and Bruce just because sometimes he transformed into a 'giant, green, rage beast'.)

There was no one to help him now.

"Beg, Bird-Boy," one of the agents growled.

"To you?" Clint managed a weak laugh. "No way!" Clint groaned as someone kicked him in the ribs. The air left his lungs and he panted for some kind of breath.

"No super boyfriends to save you now, _Hawkeye_." Clint didn't mind anyone thinking his codename was stupid, that was fine, that kind of teasing had worn off _years_ ago when Clint started working for S.H.I.E.L.D. But the comment about the other Avengers. Something so simple as 'super boyfriends' (that wasn't even offensive!) in such a . . . _mocking_ voice . . . it made Clint see red.

"They're good people. Unlike you inbred bastards."

Clint was kicked roughly again. A boot landed on his face, crushing his nose. He let out a strangled scream.

"You'd know a thing or two about being inbred, huh, Barton?" He couldn't pin a face to the voice and he didn't know if he wanted to. He _worked_ with these people. "Read your file. I'm quire the hacker. You had bad parents. Boo hoo. But your brother . . ."

Clint winced automatically.

"Barney, right? Heard he did some pretty weird shit to you."

_Barney's face, heavy breathing on his face. "Hey, Clint. You tell anyone . . ."_

_ Younger Clint, nodding desperately. Just wanting his brother away from him. Just anywhere but __**here**__._

_ Barney's heavy body, shifting and moving away. __**Away**__._

_ Clint had covered himself up for days afterwards. The Swordsman was curious but Clint wouldn't tell him anything. He couldn't._

"S-shut it," Clint wheezed.

"Or what? You'll _bleed on me_?"

"Or I'll let the Other Guy loose," a quiet voice spoke up.

Clint's head shot up to see Bruce. The scientist was looking a little green, and he pushed his cracked glasses further up his nose. He offered Clint a half-hearted look.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents ran. Of course they ran. They didn't want to be near one of the Avengers, not after being caught hurting one of their friends.

"T-thanks." Clint took a few steadying breathes before adding, "Dr. Banner."

"Call me Bruce." Bruce leaned down and helped put Clint on his feet.

Clint immediately shifted all his weight to settle on Bruce. He would feel bad about making the scientist carry him later, right now he just wanted to lie down somewhere and just sleep.

"'Re you doin' here, anyway?" Clint didn't realise he'd asked the question until Bruce was answering it.

"I was told it was a disused corridor," Bruce replied. "Tony and I wanted to . . . test some things here, without Fury knowing about any . . ."

"'Splosion's?"

"I was going to say 'accidents'." Bruce shrugged. "For Tony, 'result' and 'explosion' are practically synonymous."

"Right."

Clint couldn't remember the rest of the walk. He just remembered Bruce setting him down on a cot in a lab.

"This yours?" Clint gestured to the bed.

"Uh, yeah, you know, when we're not living in the Tower," Bruce said, shrugging and waving a hand.

"I'm bleedin' on it."

"I'm just finding bandages now."

"No. Your sheets . . ."

Bruce looked a cross between amusement and irritation. "Your health versus my sheets, which Tony always complains aren't right because I didn't import them straight from Egypt made from the finest cottons," he said. "_Steve_ would be upset about getting blood on the sheets. _Clint_ would be upset about no good-looking nurses."

"You'll do fine." God, did he just say that out loud?

Bruce blushed slightly, just a pink dusting on his cheeks. It had disappeared again when he took the bandages to Clint.

"Why were they doing that?" Bruce asked in a low voice.

"Loki. Mind-control thing. Weren't you there?"

"No. I was . . . well, _the Other Guy_ was fighting Thor," Bruce said. "I heard about it from Natasha though. They . . . blame you?"

"Course. Killed some people. Don't wanna talk 'bout it."

Bruce sighed. "We will have to talk about it. When you've rested though. You look dead on your feet. We'll . . ."

Whatever Bruce said next, it was cut off as Clint's head hit the surprisingly soft pillow of Bruce's pillow.

* * *

**I'm not sure what this was meant to be. I wanted to write Clint in pain and this is what happens.**

* * *

**Got The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer on Blu-Ray today. Only really wanted it for Chris Evans. Chris Evans on Blu-Ray. *_* I need to get Captain America on Blu-Ray and all the other Avengers movies. But Chris Evans as the Human Torch. He can set himself himself on fire 'cos he's so _hot..._**

* * *

**Audrey Lynne: **Ah! Thank you for saying so~! Yes, and there is _nothing_ wrong with staring at Chris Evans. Nothing. I will keep telling myself that. (My friend Cameron keeps complaining that I keep talking about Chris Evans and how _I'd_ complain if he kept talking about how hot Megan Fox is but I'm like, "but it's _Chris Evans_" and I got one of the girls in my Biology class to say "Chris Evans" every time we see each other. _It's spreading_. Ugh. I dislike Kristen Stewart as well but I like the look of Snow White and the Huntsman (I liked the trailer mostly because she didn't talk in it) and it's _Chris Hemsworth_. I might brave it, but I'd prefer to watch Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Killer?) because _Dominic Cooper_ is in it.

**sernity1806: **Um, in high school in America? I have no idea. It's possible I could still be in middle school. It depends when you start/leave middle school/high school in America. In England, I have no idea, I don't know the English school system. In Scotland, I _am_ in academy :D My author parts crack you up? :D awesome! I'll keep trying that. I'll keep on with the story, don't you worry :D

**Laheara: **Natasha getting dangerous is awesome, ne? I don't dislike Fury (he was on the Avengers side in the Avengers, but I've read fanfictions where he's not-so-nice) but I can imagine he's not as close to the team as the team are with each other. To him, Steve's ill, but his priorities are the Earth, so basically Steve has got to get better _for the earth_, not for Steve. For the team, they're blinded by their love for Steve so Steve has to get better _because he's **Steve**_. XD Yeah. Yup. Steve is both :D But I imagine he might snap at some point much like Hank Pym did because Hank was smart, but not as smart as Tony or Bruce or Reed and he was strong but not as strong as the Hulk or Captain America or whoever. And then he had a weird panic thing and smacked Jan and yeah . . . Yes! The line about "everything special about you came from a bottle". I want him to want to take that back. I want him to realise that Steve is _so much more_ and he _tries _but he was so _small_ so he _had_ to take the super-serum so he could help. YOU SHOULD WRITE SOMETHING. Yes. Do it. Please?

**Moondemon93: **You love this story? Aww :D I'll try and update daily, like I said :) I'm glad you like the writing. Plot bunnies! I will find them!


	9. Chapter 9

**a/n: apologies for the late chapter. It's been a while.**

**I'm not dead. Just slowing down with my writing.**

**And I lost the notebook my chapters sixteen and seventeen were on so I have to write them from scratch and that is _annoying_ and they're so bad, they used to be better. X_X**

**enough excuses.**

**Also, I'm not sure if I'll update by next Monday (Moonday :D), but I should. But, if I don't, then you should know that there'll be a 'brief' two week break whilst I'm holiday in England. Good news, though: In England, during the evenings, if I'm not at that super-special-awesome-amazing-HUMONGOUS bookshop that lets you bring in dogs, then I'll be writing this. Or I should be. Need to buy a new notebook. And then I can post more.**

* * *

It was one of those _good_ moments. It wouldn't last long but Steve was going to take anything he could get, even if it was only a few minutes of respite.

He allowed his muscles to relax, but they were trembling and—Oh God, it _still hurt _and how could _anyone_ hurt _this much_?

He let out a few shaky breathes and he tried raising one of his arms to wipe away the salty tears that he _knew_ were still on his face but his whole _arm _hurt and the muscles were weak and his body wouldn't listen to his brain and—_**oh God, it still hurt**_.

His breathing turned to panting and he felt like his entire body was pinned to the hospital bed because he couldn't sit up and he was just so _tired_.

"Hey Steve, you still here?"

` Steve jumped and his muscles pulled and he _really_ didn't need that. It wasn't Tony's fault. He didn't know how his body was hurting him. Or maybe he did. Were they monitoring him?

"Right, yeah, the whole stuck-in-a-hospital-bed thing . . ." Tony was suddenly in Steve's field of vision. "Can you . . . ?" He made a vague hand gesture.

Steve's trembling was subsiding and he thought he understood what Tony was trying to ask.

"Help." He sounded so pathetic and hoarse and why was his throat so sore?

Tony offered a hand and helped Steve sit up. Steve's muscles clenched and tears sprung into his eyes.

"You okay?" Tony asked.

Steve didn't think he _could_ reply so he tried to nod.

Tony held out a glass of water and Steve allowed Tony to tip the water down his throat. The cool liquid was like ice on a burn.

"Babysitting duties?" Steve's throat still hurt but he was going to tell Tony. He had to gasp after he'd said those two words, though, because his lungs just _couldn't_ hold any more oxygen.

"Nah. It's just that Bruce is busy and he says I can't help 'cos you know, robots vs. chemistry. Everyone else is . . . anyway, I thought I owed you a visit 'cos, you know, everyone has and—"

"Tony."

Tony looked up from where his hands had been fiddling with something mechanical in his lap. "Yeah, Cap?"

"What's happ—" Steve felt the muscles in his feet and legs begin to cramp. "Get out."

"What?"

"Get. Out."

Tony looked hurt but got up from his chair. "Yeah, sure, got it, Cap."

And the pain was back and it _burned_ and Steve used what was left of his enhanced senses to listen for when the doors slammed (and that made Steve feel all kinds of guilty inside because Tony didn't deserve to be kicked out for _caring_ but Steve didn't want Tony hearing him scream or watching him cry).

His throat was still raw and that hurt enough but Steve could still hear the echoes of his screams fill the room around him.

* * *

"Brother."

"_Don't! _Don't _call me that_! We _aren't_ brothers! It was a _lie_. Conjured on the false and foolish hope of _peace_."

"Loki. We _are_ brothers! Not in blood, maybe, but in heart." Thor wished to approach his brother, take him by the shoulders and shake him to sense. But he could not risk Steven's chances of getting aid.

"How poetic." Loki allowed himself to fall into a chair. "What is your purpose for seeking me out?"

"Can I not seek you out and just to _see _you?"

Loki thought for about half a second. "No." His eyes bored into Thor's. "Reveal your motives."

"My Shield-Brother is losing his strength."

"'The Man Out of Time.' I know."

"How?"

"I have excess amounts of spare time in my exile." Loki shrugged, waving a hand. "I watch. As Heimdall does. I see not what is so . . . interesting about it."

"Will your magic help Steven?"

"It could. But I have no desire to try."

"Brother . . ."

"Leave now. This is _my_ domain. The only thing I have left. You are invading it. Go."

"I will be back for you, Loki." Thor began to walk away, but he glanced at Loki over his shoulder.

"Perhaps."

* * *

"You've got to know _something_."

The scientist shook his head desperately. "You have to believe me!"

"Your family have been tracking HYDRA's formulas for _years_. There _has_ to be _something_ that you can tell me!"

Natasha Romanoff had a history of red and violence and anger and everybody at S.H.I.E.L.D. knew not to mess with her or her friends because she would kill them.

No one had ever seen a panicked Natasha (and if she had her way no one ever _would_), no one had even seen her face less than the cold mask she kept on it. But she could _feel_ the fear for her leader's wellbeing rising inside of her. Not that she and Steve particularly close, but he was one of the Avengers. That was a strong bond that she wasn't going to take for granted.

"Tell me the problem and I could—"

"No. You're going to tell your bosses and I know you are. So go ahead." Natasha kicked him once, to add to the series of bruises and wounds already littering his body. "I'm leaving."

"You . . . not going to kill me?"

"Not yet."

* * *

**My terrible attempt to bring Natasha into this.**

**My version of Thor is bad too, but I can at least stand him. I can't write Natasha (I end up basing her off of my best friend. Hi Carly! But it's _trueee_). **

**sernity 1806: **Tell your sister's friend that she has a good taste in . . . Chris's? XD Yeah, well, I have no idea what I'd be in but I'm more mature than my age group. Sometimes. XD

**RyanReta****:** Who _doesn't_ have the hots for Chris? There's a Gucci Guilty poster thing on my local Debenhams branch (I can't spell it X_X) so every time I pass it I just yell: "CHRISSSS EVVANNSSS" and people stare. Not my fault. AH. DON'T HURT. I'LL GET YOU A BRUCE BANNER TO FIX YOU UP. Um, sorry for the slow update? XD I did enjoy the movies though.

**LuminiaAravis: **Ah, I'm glad you liked it! :D Well, at the moment they're all focused on Steve. So, it's like, when they find out what happened to Clint ('cos Bruce is already containing his rage) they're just going to snap.

** : **I'm glad you think so! Ohmygosh, I read your review and I was like "Push" hmmm. And then I was in HMV the other day and I happened to see it and I was just like "AHDHGHL;DKJGFLH" and I gave it to my mother and she bought it and I watched it and aklhsdl;gdf. yes. Actually, people _read _my author's notes? Seriously, people say that and I'm like, "I'm just filling space and ranting and stuff XD" OOH and I'll get straight onto reading your story and then, believe me, all of my feels for your story will be posted here and I'll just be like: "WHY ARE YOU HURTING ME LIKE THIS?" and you'll just evil-laugh. :D And then I'll hurt you back using this story, if I can XD I didn't notice how comic-related my profile was until a moment ago. OHMYGOD, DEADPOOL. DEADPOOL. ASDHKGHL;K WADE WILSON. XD I got a Deadpool comic the other day and I just _loved. _My brother also likes Deadpool now. (He's learning.) I haven't seen the Green Lantern movie. But after seeing Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, I'll probably end up watching it soon xD

**pipilo: **I'm just glad you like it. You don't have to be excited :D At least you're honest :) I'll try and make it better but ugh. work. X_X XD


	10. Chapter 10

**Happy Cap's Birthday-Day**

**(if you don't like long science lessons and author's note, you really should just wait and see if, when this story is eventually over, I just make a version of it with all of the author's notes just cut and see how short the story is in comparison.)**

**a/n: short chapter. long science lesson. a lot of the science lesson is probably wrong. if you see wrongs stuff, you can tell me, but I won't change it. actually, I _hate_ being corrected a lot of the time so I'll probably just get pissy. XD Which, actually, is no one's fault but mine because I'm such a stubborn b**** who hates to be wrong. xD But yeah, actually, correct me if you want, but I probably won't change the 'science magic awesomesauce super serum DNA' thing.**

**ALSO: I've been reading "Invincible" (aweeeesomesaucccee story by 'thegraytigress'. Which is beyond awesome and amazing and I _love_ it (and I love "Shattered Delirium" by ' ' because that is equally amazefghdhlkg;df and just the _feels_ and asdfghjkl;). _Andddd_, in chapter 8, *spoiler alert* there's a traitor called 'Andrew Caldwell'.**

**That chapter was probably written _weeeksss_ before mine or whatever, but I looked back to _my_ chapter eight and I was like, "OMG, I HAVE A TRAITOR CALLED 'ANDREW TOO" ("there had been that weird Andrew guy who had turned out to be working for some neo-Nazi group"). And I was just like; "FHKLJDSH THIS IS FATE. WE BOTH HAVE THE SAME FEELINGS FOR TRAITORS NAMED 'ANDREW' IN OUR CHAPTER EIGHTS. HKFHKLDHGDHLFDH".**

**And my common sense is just like, "There are plenty of people called Andrew. Not all of them are traitors. Get a grip."**

* * *

"Got anything new, Doc?"

Bruce looked up from his microscope, looking hassled. "Nothing that's important. Did you go see him?"

"Yeah. He kicked me out." Tony sat down at a table, scowling. "So . . . here! What's Barton doing here? Are those bandages?"

Bruce shushed him. "Let him sleep." He paused. "What do you mean he kicked you out?"

"Well, I seem to remember the words 'get out' coming from the mouth of our _dear leader_." The last words were spit out and Tony's eyes narrowed.

"Why would he . . . ? Tony, you've got JARVIS monitoring Steve, don't you?"

"Uh, no, actually. Forgot. I could _get_ him to if . . ."

"Do it now."

"Yeah, okay." Tony frowned. He was unused to _not _knowing things. He tapped a few buttons on his StarkPhone. "Hey, JARVIS, can you watch the security cameras in the S.H.I.E.L.D. medical bay."

"I'm already doing so, sir. Would you like to see the footage I have recorded thus far?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"SECURITY ERROR. Data is not available."

"What do you mean 'Data is not available'?" Tony looked up, getting to his feet, his jaw set.

"I'm sorry, sir, all recordings of Captain Rogers have been deleted to save the rest of my data from file corruption," JARVIS's tone rang through his phone.

"'File corruption?' JARVIS, who's been touching your wires?"

"There's a block in my memory between midnight and one o'clock. All of my data seems to be intact except for any file with Captain Rogers."

"Some _hacked_ my AI?" Tony slammed a fist into the table.

Clint jerked away with a yell. He hit his head on something and groaned in pain. "Bruce?"

"I'm here."

"Still don' wanna talk 'bout it," Clint said sleepily.

"I know. We'll talk about it later."

Tony looked confused and Clint finally seemed to notice him. "Wha' happened?"

"Someone hacked JARVIS," Bruce explained.

"They can do that?" Clint with slow, heavy movements, rubbed his eyes. "Is, like, getting hacked like a computer STD or something?"

Tony glared at him.

". . . how's Cap?" Clint turned to Bruce.

"We're not sure," Bruce admitted. "Tony, can JARVIS monitor Steve or not?"

"Yeah, just . . ." Tony sighed in exasperation. "If someone could hack into JARVIS's mainframe then they could look at _any_ of us. If they find out that Steve is . . ."

"They probably already know," Bruce pointed out. "And we need to know if there's ever an emergency."

"JARVIS . . ." Tony began. "If you feel up to it, keep a feed on the medical bay. Cap's wing in particular. Let us know if anything comes up."

"Yes, sir."

Clint yawned. "Where is 'Tasha? And Thor?"

Tony's eyes, dark, hollow and tired bored into Clint's. "Who cares? They can look after themselves. I'm going to sleep in my lab." He left the room, yawning too.

"When did you sleep last?" Clint asked.

Bruce did not reply. He kept his eyes focused on the computer monitors around him.

"Bruce? C'mon, buddy, get some sleep."

"I need to work this out. For Steve." Bruce looked slightly desperate. "I'm the only one on the team who can even _understand_ half of this and I've come the closest to reproducing the super-serum than anyone else. I'm the _only_ _one_." Bruce put his hands to his head.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has scientists who can—"

"Don't tell me _you_ of all people _trust_ S.H.I.E.L.D."

"What would they have to gain from making Steve small again? Five pissed Avengers and a lower chance we can save the world next time."

"Right now they have six unpredictable, unruly Avengers consisting of a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist who can't keep his secret identity a secret for longer than a month, a God of Thunder who's only still on this 'realm' because of his girlfriend, brother and us, two secret agents, one who was brainwashed recently"—he didn't miss Clint's wince and almost felt bad about it—"and one who used to play for the other team, one out-of-time super soldier who probably hasn't got a bad bone in his body and one 'giant, green, rage machine'."

"We're a _time bomb_," Clint said, "yeah I heard."

"What happens if one of us gets hurt? Dies? If Steve dies here"—"Steve won't die! He's just getting weak!"—"we'll want to fight for his cause. We'll want to be a _team_. We'll want to do something _good_ because Steve isn't here to do it!"

"But no one's going to die! He's just going back to his body before the serum!"

". . . Clint . . . his mind might not adjust. His brain cells might not cope without the serum . . ."

"No!"

"Clint . . ."

"When're we gonna tell him that the serum's wearin' off? How're we gonna tell him he can't be part of the team?"

Bruce collapsed into a chair. "We won't have to. We're going to find a cure."

* * *

**Science Lesson (you may skip this if you don't actually care so that's basically everyone. i just felt like i owed everyone an explanation):**

**Okay. This is my idea for what's going on with Steve:**

**Cells are being formed all the time to replace older ones when they die. Like, our red blood cells will live about three-four months before they die and then they'll be replaced because our body will create new ones (so says the internet). Only, in Steve's case, the cells that _are_ being created _don't_ all have the super-serum encoded on him (and if anyone asks why then just be quiet and enjoy the science lesson whilst it lasts). Some of them do, and some of them don't, and some of them only have the super-serum on a few strands of DNA or whatever, or only in a few of the chromosomes.**

**In my mind, this has been happening for a few months now (maybe three-four months? ;)) and basically, the cells that live shorter have been replicating _more_ of the serum (like skin cells which can only live about 2-4 weeks), but the ones that live longer _haven't_. Brain cells live about as long as we do but Steve's been living _longer_ and his brain cells can't cope with that. They're reproducing (somehow? Maybe the super-serum) but they _haven't_ got the super-serum encoded on them. So some of his brain cells have the super-serum, some of them don't. And they don't match and that's not good. His blood cells are fighting against each other because the super-serum cells don't recognise the normal Steve-Rogers-just-a-boy-from-Brooklyn-pre-serum blood cells and think that they're dangerous.**

**So, his cells (which are _genius_ cells because of either the super-serum or Steve's pure heart or Marvel logic or handwaving abilities or magic or maybe you're like me and want to believe that Steve is the son of Loki and Thor and therefore is half-Jotun and half-Aesir and that means that he's magic and can do what he wants) are trying to reproduce the serum by giving Steve everything that they recognise (shrug?) so, like, lactic acid (which is why your muscles burn when you work out, right? Because your body can't produce enough energy for you to use so it uses all this stuff. I think that's right, I'm not sure, but we'll just pretend it is for the benefit of this story, 'kay?) and gastric acid and basically anything that his body has ever used/produced/whatever (sweat, tears, blood, whatever). A lot of this hurts because his cells _aren't meant to be able to do that_ and because those kinds of acids aren't _meant_ to be anywhere else in his body except where it's safe (like our stomachs have to produce lining to stop our body from being dissolved by our acid) so it's not good for him.**

**But because he's still got _some_ super-soldier serum left, his body is still fixing all the damages it has caused. But it doesn't have any spare time to fix the wound still on his stomach or anything else, (including figuring out what the formula actually _is_ because dammit, you _have_ the DNA and if you're super-magical-awesome cells that are smart enough to figure out how to do all the above then why can't you just _replicate the serum_?). The thing that is keeping him alive is also killing him (where've we heard that one before . . . ?).**

**A lot of that is probably wrong. But right now, in Biology, we're doing Ecosystems and even when I eventually get to Human Biology, I'll revise this, sure, but we're not exactly covering Steve Rogers and Erskine's formula and super-soldiers because, as I've been reminded about 8000 times now, "They aren't _real_ and if you keep going on about them then maybe we'll make you see the school nurse because I don't think it's healthy anymore."**

**You just don't understand, people!**

**(and on the television, they just mentioned "Nazi codes" and I'm going to totally pretend that I immediately did not jump to the conclusion that it was HYDRA and Peggy and Howard cracked all the codes.)**

**(and yesterday, my mother was watching a documentary about Nazis and witchcraft and I started saying, "Oh, did you know there was a secret branch of the Nazi party called 'HYDRA' which developed weapons? And it was run by Johann Schmidt who wanted to break away from the Nazis. And he was later known was 'Red Skull' and he fought against Captain America in World War II and—"**

**And my dad was just like, "It started off so well. I thought you'd actually _learned_ something in history. And then it was just Captain America."**

**X_X)**


	11. Chapter 11

**a/n: so looking over this and, in my opinion, it's starting to look terrible. I would quite like, at some point, to go over it and rewrite it and fix all of the God-awful mistakes I made. I way over-woobied Steve and dkgddkjdjl**

**At least I tried with the scene though, so that was one thing.**

**I'm pleased that it's still garnering interest as well as the dust. I've actually got a few other Avengers fics that I started and never finished, but as I'm in-between fandoms at the moment (my friend, forever nicknamed 'Enjy' now just because, made me obsessed with Les Misérables and I'll never forgive her for that. George Blagden oh my god.) and the amount of 'Suits' fanfictions I've started but never completed is just pitiful.**

**No doubt, on Friday (I think it's Friday for me), when Iron Man 3 comes out, I'll be forced right back into the Avengers fandom and I can finally revise this whole thing and be done with it at some point. At a point where maybe one day I can actually write the characters correctly. Thank you all for showing interest in it despite its quite obvious issues and I promise I'll make it better at some point.**

**Now I need to disappear because Enjy just reblogged more George Blagden for me on tumblr and I can't handle it.**

**(note: I totally didn't revise this chapter. I wanted to update to let people know that I'm still alive and that I love you guys but I only got half-way through reading this before I cringed and decided just to post it. I swear I'll revise this whole thing.)**

* * *

"Captain Rogers."

Steve jumped but, after a minute, recognised the cool British accent. His body hadn't . . . attacked him in an hour or two (and he'd consumed all of the water in the jug next to his bedside) and he was relieved that he could hear _something_ other than the echoes of his screaming and sobbing or, even worse, the dead white line of silence.

"JARVIS."

"I have a record of the past eight hours since I began re-recording on Mr. Stark's request. Would you like me to show it to him?"

"N-no. JARVIS . . . please don't let him—them—know that I'm . . . hurt."

"What should I tell Mr. Stark should he ask again?"

"'Again'?"

"Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner have already requested to view the security footage. Unfortunately, it seems my and the S.H.I.E.L.D. mainframe's memory banks have been tampered with."

"Someone . . . wow. Tony's working to find out who, right? Memory banks sound important."

"Memory banks are very important, Captain Rogers. At this moment in time, Mr. Stark is sleeping. What should I tell him should he ask for the security footage? Any deletions will be noted and, therefore, traceable."

"Can't you just . . . not let him?"

"Mr. Stark could easily find a way to access the files himself or override your command."

"Right." Steve looked uncomfortable. "Please, you could say _anything_, just don't let anyone see me . . . crying or screaming or . . . just don't let them see anything but me being healthy."

"Yes, Captain Rogers, as you wish."

"And, uh, JARVIS, could you tell me what's . . . what's happening to me? Dr. Banner's said _something_ about it, right?"

". . ."

"JARVIS?"

"I cannot disclose that kind of information, Captain. My apologies."

"Director Fury."

Coulson looked absolutely lost.

"Yes?" Fury turned to look at him, expression softer than usual.

"We're losing them."

"Why are there bloodstains on these sheets, Bruce?"

Bruce looked up from his microscope (again) and shared a look with Clint, who was staring at a monitor with a deep scowl on his face.

Natasha looked between the two.

"Still don' wanna talk 'bout it," Clint muttered.

"You're scratching your bandages," Bruce pointed out.

"Bandages?" Natasha didn't look happy. "What happened, Clint?"

"Um, she looks angry. Bruce~! You can deal with it!" Clint continued to scowl at the screen, but his face had gone white.

Bruce held up his hands, palms facing Natasha, fingers spread in a gesture of peace. "Studying."

Pepper stormed into Tony's S.H.I.E.L.D. lab, hands on her hips, Rhodey just behind her.

"TONY!"

Tony jerked awake from where he'd been lying on at his desk, notes scattered in front of him. As he woke, his immediately put a hand forward to check for the Arc Reactor. Pepper almost looked guilty.

"Yeah." Tony rubbed his eyes. "'M awake."

Rhodey leaned forward and placed a cup of coffee that looked like it'd come straight from the S.H.I.E.L.D. canteen straight onto his desk, right in front of him.

"You're a god, Rhodey."

Rhodey smiled, but it looked slightly more like a smirk (he'd obviously been learning).

"So, Tony . . . it's been about _three days_. Where thehell have you been?!"

"Pep, I've been working on . . . wait! You don't know about our . . . problem?"

"What 'problem'?"

Tony turned his attention to his phone, which was lying on the desk next to him. "JARVIS, why didn't you tell Pepper?"

"I was deleting my information to save my entire mainframe being corrupted by what Mr. Barton has referred to as a 'computer sexually transmitted disease'. I'm sorry, sir, Ms. Potts." JARVIS's tone was bordering on homicidal and Tony wondered when he'd programmed _that_ attitude onto him.

"Right, yeah." Tony shrugged. "Maybe I should just show you . . ."

"Captain Rogers is currently asleep," JARVIS commented quickly. "I would not recommend walking him at this."

"No? How's Bruce? Maybe _he_ could explain it. You know me; bad with sensitive . . . stuff."

"Dr. Banner is also asleep, per Mr. Barton's orders."

"God . . ." Tony sighed and wiped his eyes with his hands.

"What's going on Tony?" Rhodey asked.

"Well . . . Cap's super-serum isn't exactly working," Tony replied. "It's fading away and that means no more Captain America."

"What?"

Tony sighed. "Bruce and I—well, mostly Bruce—are working on re-making the super-serum. Or a cure for what's happening."

"Does Steve know?" Pepper had her 'serious' face on (the face that meant Tony had planned another party and she had to do casualty and damage control, or that Tony had almost destroyed the company ["_Again_~" Tony would sing-song in a falsetto voice] and she would have to pick up the pieces) and that meant that Tony was only _slightly_ (okay, lots of slightly) afraid of her.

"No. And it's going to stay that way."

"He'll figure it out, Tony; he's not dumb. And how do you plan to keep it a secret for much longer? If he's in the hospital, which I bet is where S.H.I.E.L.D. stuck him, then how long are you going to be able to keep him there without telling him _why_?"

"He's not going to find out. He's not going to leave the hospital. And he's not going to have to be there much longer. We're going to fix this."

"Tell me, Shield-Brother, how do you feel?"

Steve looked up to Thor. "I feel good. Better, anyway." It was true. He'd made it through the night with no serious pains except for one sort-of minor episode which ended in a black-out. Plus, the wound on his abdomen was starting to heal and he'd feel better once it was gone.

"Have you been in any pain?"

"Uh . . . no." Steve averted his eyes from the other blonde.

"I grew up with the God of Lies, Steven; I can tell when you are lying also." Thor didn't look mean, or judgemental, or demand to know _why_ he had lied though, so felt less ashamed.

He glanced at his hands. "I'm meant to be the leader, right? Leaders don't . . ."

"Everyone is allowed to be weak, Steven. The Allfather, _my_ father, he cannot always be strong, so he gathers all of his strength during a period of rest. The Odinsleep. Perhaps you mortals must find a way to gather your strength as he does." Thor patted his friend's shoulder.

A burning sensation ran from Steve's shoulder down his entire body. He clenched his teeth and tears sprung into his eyes.

"Brother?"

Steve breathed heavily. Finally he managed to give Thor a weak smile. He hoped it didn't look as pathetic and sore as he felt.

"I'm sorry, Brother." Thor indeed _did_ look sorry. He looked so guilty that it made _Steve_ feel guilty.

"No, no, it's fine, Thor. Reminds me that I'm still alive." It was meant to be reassuring, or something to that extent, but it came out as slightly bitter and slightly upset.

"Are you alright, Steven?"

"No." Steve looked back down at the cotton sheets he was lying on. Standard S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital cotton sheets. Not itchy or scratchy but nearly always covered with blood so not expensive either. "I just want someone to tell me _what's_ happening. All I know is that it _hurts_ every few hours and I feel sick now and no one is telling me _anything_ and they're all acting like I'm going to _die_ and it's _scaring _me. They won't let me leave the medical bay. The whole team were here when I was first put in. Tony and Clint visited once each and this is the second time you've been here but other than that I've been _alone_ and if I am going to die, because everyone seems to treat me like I am, then I really would prefer to die with people around me."

Steve didn't realise there were tears running down his face until Thor wiped one of them away with calloused fingers.

"Worry not, brother," he said, "I will speak to the others. I have been thoroughly assured that this is nothing life-threatening but I will convince the others to come down and spend time with you, to wish you well in your recovery."

". . . Thanks, Thor. That means a lot."


End file.
